Current Affairs

05/25/2010

When my mom heard her small Orange County hometown of Placentia mentioned on National News her ears perked up. What she wasn't expecting was the topic - Controversial dance performed by 8-year-olds to the tune of Beyonce's "Single Ladies." She called me right away and I got a YouTube link in an email later that day from one of my closest childhood friends who danced for the now infamous Precision Dance Studio.

Much of my childhood was spent in dance studios learning routines and nursing blistered toes, so my first impression of the provocative routine was "Wow, those little girls can dance!" Then the mom part of me highlighted the word little. Though the dance is an amazing display of their talent and hard work, if you put boobs into their lingerie-like tops (yes, lingerie) the routine would fit right in at an Vegas strip club (not that I've ever been to a Vegas strip club).

05/19/2010

If one more company hits me up to pimp their sale or frivolous whatever, I may officially lose it.

It's just ridiculous. We are asked to sell everyone else's stuff and do it for free. Hello?! We are moms, we are busy, we have kids and families to provide for and take care of.

The ridiculous thing is, these companies (out to build their own financial families), see our worth, as they seek us out and hit us up, but they don't value the true essence of family we stand for--which is at its root: loved ones who spend quality time together and financially (and emotionally, of course) support one another. Too many Mom Bloggers get stuck spinning their wheels for free at the expense of their family because they get lost on this runaway Mother Theresa of Blogging Bandwagon.

Now, this is no revolutionary bitchfest I'm venting here; it's been said before. Which brings to the front burner, why are less and less companies getting it?

I don't know, but cheers to companies who do get it, who value the worthy Mom Blogger and her message and who see beyond a url of free ad space. Cheers to those who pay for space (or offer other legit value she deems worthy).

So, now, what needs to happen to these companies taking advantage of innocent newbies or kind-hearted not-so-newbies? Perhaps they need to be outed, then they might see the power of a Mom Blogger.

04/23/2010

I wasn’t really trying to listen in on their conversation… but after a while it became hard to not listen to what they were saying. Yes, the economic downturn has affected Orange County, CA in a major way. I don’t know anyone whose family hasn’t been touched in some way, either by a layoff, a pay reduction or some other reduction in financial security. It’s the topic on everyone’s minds these days so it’s not unusual to hear women talking about their home being foreclosed on while their kids play at the park or sip on a coffee at Starbucks. It’s just reality around here and not just fodder for The Real Housewives of Orange County!

As I sat there pretending to be immersed in emails on my iPhone, I overheard one of the women mentioning that they didn’t have the money to pay the movers the remaining balance to get their furniture out of storage. I heard her say over and over again how hard the past few months had been. I couldn’t help but notice her perfectly manicured acrylic nails, salon perfect hair and obvious cosmetic surgery she’d had and wonder whether it was “real” money spent on those items or just paid for with equity lines and credit cards. Don’t misunderstand me… I have absolutely nothing against those things. My beef is with spending fake money for it. If you can’t afford to pay for it with real money… you have no business getting it done! If you can’t afford to pay a couple thousand dollars to get your furniture out of storage how can you rationalize manicures, expensive hairstylists and a shopping budget that would feed a small village?

04/02/2010

Orange County's Capo teachers (CUSD) are about to strike any day it seems. I don’t
know what to think or what to believe, but I know that talk of substitute teachers who’ve
never been fingerprinted is enough to make me do shots (my 2-minute Martini
Monovlog above).

I just can’t imagine dropping my kids off with picket lines.
Can’t we all just get along, already? It’s been going on for months! Who’s
really got the kids’ best interest at heart? Kids or cash? LA's Bill Handel had some
usual frank talk yesterday on his KFI radio show with OC mom/reporter Hannah
Scott (worth a listen: click OC Teachers on 4/1).

The story is all over, at MSNBC and more. So with all the
chatter, why am I—and so many of my fellow Mom friends—still disengaged?

I wonder: are your kids in Capo, do you care, would you picket
at Capo or if it hits your district?

03/21/2010

Now I’m not talking about switching my kids to a new school because
of a new job or house, I’m talking scooping them from stability simply because
of the curriculum, philosophy, teachers, lunch menu, paint
colors or whatever the reason this time. I jest on that last part, but you get the idea.

My kids are four and six, yes, I’ve had the same
hairstyle longer than my tikes have had their school mascots. Between them, I've had at least five school changes/ordeals/transitions/freakouts. The private schools, public schools, charter schools ...

So is it just me? I don’t know, as so many OC moms around me
seem to have a backup school in their back pocket. Sure, we give the Stepford wave and smile at dropoff, but we’re calculating a better plan before the door shuts.